In Sharing Pain And Pleasure
by SincerelyShania
Summary: ONESHOT. As the village head, Naruto devotedly toils away day in and day out, not setting much time aside for self-care. When his old teammate and longtime friend shows up unexpectedly, reprimanding him for his severe lack of sleep, how do both men cope with their repressed feelings in their vulnerable and revealing states?


Exhausted, drained, fatigued... If a word existed that could do justice to the true extent of Naruto's weariness, his tired mind proved incapable of identifying it. Perhaps to have simply described him as a burnt-out wreck most accurately explained his fragile state of being, brought upon by a severe lack of sleep. Bearing the title of Hokage—the shinobi most recognized for his strength and sense of guidance in the Land of Fire, presiding directly over the Village Hidden in the Leaves—encompassed being willing to make any necessary sacrifice without hesitation and whole-heartedly taking on the role of caretaker to thousands upon thousands of men, women, and children, all looking to their leader for stability, protection, and hope. A dream made reality, though the job almost entirely removed the knucklehead ninja from much semblance of a personal life, he relished in every document needing his seal of approval, every shinobi team he meticulously assigned to their respective missions, every speech he allowed to flow from the depths of his heart, every painstaking battle he pushed himself to suffer through that left him with inner scars he may never fully heal from, and every citizen he got to watch learn, grow, and thrive; yes, he happily undertook each and every duty expected of him, never regretting spending his life's journey toiling away in order to reach his current destination. His dream permitted him the opportunity to create lasting bonds that helped carry him into the future and shape himself into a man he sincerely hoped his late parents and sensei could find pride in. Of course, despite his dedication to and love for his weighty role, at his core, there was no escaping the fact that a human heart pounded within the confines of his chest, frequently leading him to long for a moment to himself in order to spend quality time with friends and family or get at least somewhat sufficient rest.

 _"Looks like I dozed off...again,"_ Naruto inwardly reprimanded, lifting his head off of his cluttered desk and jump-starting himself with a couple of firm smacks to his cheeks. _"I have got to wake up! There's still just too much to do for me to be wasting my time sleeping. I wouldn't be able to rest peacefully knowing that I was neglecting unfinished work for some shut-eye anyway..."_ The blonde-haired Hokage sighed defeatedly, his deep blue orbs surveying his office attentively. Boxes full of miscellaneous items, ranging from (but not limited to) run-of-the-mill paperwork to any assortment of ninja tool prototypes, crowded the room and towered over him menacingly, seemingly ready to bury him at the slightest nudge or gust of air. If their presence alone failed to stir up enough feelings of claustrophobia and helplessness, then remained the matter of his desk, assuming it was even still standing beneath the masses of official records, books, scrolls, and other documentation that littered its surface, nearly obscuring it from view entirely. While his shadow clones, a multitude of tangible, identical copies of himself, dealt with varying tasks elsewhere that sought his attention, Naruto had been stationed in the Hokage's office since the morning of two days prior, dedicatedly tending to the never-ending list of responsibilities that solicited his concern.

Placing his elbows on a tiny, visible section of his desk, Naruto forcefully massaged his temples as he glanced down at the massive load of work that occupied a majority of the space, silently debating on where would be most beneficial to pick back up. Eventually settled on reviewing a mission report written by a squad of a few of his elite shinobi, known as the Anbu Black Ops, he rested his chin in the palm of his upturned left hand and grasped a beige scroll that contained content detailing the results of their operation.

"Retrieved the stolen sensitive information... No casualties suffered on either side... Assignment successful..." The devoted jinchuriki—an individual who played host to one of the nine tailed beasts birthed of the ten tail's immense chakra—mumbled the highlights of the report to himself, a tired but relieved smile pulling at the corners of his lips. Although missions that ran perfectly smoothly were not uncommon in recent times, in relation to a past in which children fought on the front lines of battlefields daily, such outcomes could often still seem illusory to those who lived through the ages of unrest between the five great shinobi nations.

 _"Despite the brutal work load, I can really only be thankful for the insane amount of reports detailing totally successful missions that are handed in,"_ Naruto mused privately, a prolonged yawn erupting from somewhere deep within him as he placed the scroll he had been examining back onto his cluttered desk. _"This peace is only possible thanks to the determination and sacrifice of countless brave shinobi during the Fourth Great Ninja War. I hope those who lost their lives can rest just a little easier being able to watch over a world that isn't plagued by hatred and pain like it used to be. Just speaking from my own experience, the Hidden Leaf is prospering, there's stability and trust between the five great nations, my citizens seem to be thriving, injuries and casualties are lower than, well...probably ever, the people that are most precious to me are living happy lives, and I have a family to call my own, waiting as patiently as they can for me to come home...whenever I can catch a break, that is. In fact, I think that, maybe...the only dream of mine that hasn't completely been realized...is having...Sasuke...ho—..."_

The knucklehead ninja's thoughts drifted off into oblivion before they concluded, his eyes slowly fluttering shut and delivering him into a black unconsciousness. As his awareness of his surroundings rapidly faded into complete ignorance, he continued to use his hand as a make-shift pillow, the dead weight of his increasingly limp body being essentially supported by his forearm alone. Having fought desperately to escape the seductive clutch of sleep, he quietly admitted defeat, succumbing to a heavy slumber.

* * *

"...ruto? Naruto? Hey, loser. Wake up." An unanticipated, stern voice slicing through the silence of Naruto's subconscious jerked him from the recesses of his mind, his eyes darting open as he flailed his arms around violently in front of his face—the best defense he could muster in his groggy state. "What are you doing passing out in your office? Just go home if things have gotten that bad. None of this work is going to be completed if you die of sleep deprivation before getting to it."

"Wha...? Sa...Sasuke...?" Naruto questioned uncertainly, recovering from his scare in order to rub his eyes disbelievingly. Removing his hands to find the image of his best friend and rival still present, he hurriedly bolted up from his seat, unwittingly sending paperwork flying from his desk in every imaginable direction. He momentarily attempted to swipe at the air in hopes of at least marginally redeeming the situation, but his frantic efforts proved to be all for naught. His head drooping in defeat, he sighed and then chuckled feebly at his own lack of grace before returning his focus to his longtime comrade. "Oh man, I thought I was still dreaming for a second there! Sorry for the mess, heh heh... But Sasuke, what are you doing here? I didn't get any kind of notice letting me know to expect you, not that it isn't a welcome surprise!"

When a wide, goofy grin threatened to overwhelm the cheerful jinchuriki's face, his feeble chuckles from embarrassment transforming into joyful giggles as it formed, he was powerless to prevent it. His former teammate traveled persistently, driven to continue roaming the Earth and other dimensional planes in search of the secrets left behind by Kaguya Otsutsuki—a rabbit goddess originating from the far-off reaches of space with the goal of erasing shinobi history and writing a future to her personal liking—in an effort to find redemption for abandoning his village, friends, and his sense of morality. If Naruto were to suggest that the sharingan user should be absolved of any one of his wrong-doings, the implication would be an injustice to all of those hurt by Sasuke's betrayal, and this was a fact Naruto begrudgingly accepted; however, biased as his feelings may or may not have been concerning the past, he and his old friend had long since shared their pain, and he understood, possibly more accurately than any other living person, the extent of Sasuke's suffering and how tremendously he ached to atone for his sins, though it was a desire he committed to longing for silently—an unfortunate result of his incessant quest for redemption being that he had not yet come to truly call the village his home again, against Naruto's most vehement wishes.

"Hn. Don't tell me you were dreaming about me, you dobe," the typically stoic Uchiha teased light-heartedly, the right corner of his mouth curving upward slightly into a faint smirk. His midnight blue hair cascaded over the left side of his face and down to his chin, concealing half of his expression from the knucklehead ninja.

"Well, I, uh..." Naruto fumbled over his words while searching for a less humiliating explanation than the truth—one that he soon established failed to exist—before rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "What can I say? I guess I've just missed you."

Sasuke stood, frozen, for a brief moment, merely offering a few slow blinks in response. His generally emotionless mask breaking to reveal genuine emotion for an instant once he processed Naruto's honest confession, a soft, rosy blush crept onto his visible cheek.

Taking notice of the new tint to his companion's face, the naive jinchuriki grew concerned. "Huh? Sasuke? Are you feeling alright? Your face looks pretty red all of a sudden."

"Sh-Shut up, idiot! It's nothing. I'm just a bit out of it because I've been traveling nonstop lately," the sharingan user retorted defensively, an agitated scoff escaping his lips as he hastily turned his head away. Exhaling softly, he fixated his intense gaze back onto Naruto and continued. "Though, it looks like you're in an even worse shape than I am."

Naruto waved his hand in front of his face dismissively, offering Sasuke a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. A little tired, but I'll manage. Why are you here, anyway? Is something going on?"

"Not at all. I happened to be nearby and figured I could take some time to stop in since a couple of months have passed since my last visit."

"Will you be staying long?"

"I don't plan to, no. But more importantly," Sasuke began, leisurely strolling toward the knucklehead ninja and halting immediately in front of his desk. "You should know by now that lying to me is useless. It doesn't take my sharingan to see that you are far more than 'tired'. Why do you always insist on acting so tough? It's annoying."

"Why, you... You come home for the first time in months and can't be nice for more than a few minutes? You're dense, as always. Hmph!" Naruto retaliated, vigorously throwing his arms over his chest and jutting out his bottom lip in the same pouty fashion a child who had been denied a piece of candy might. He and the abrasive Uchiha glared at each other in silence fleetingly, but laughter soon began to fill the room as both men broke their playful facades, unable to maintain their act. Recomposing himself, Naruto spoke again. "Guess you're right, though... I'm completely drained, but there's still so much to do. As nice as a break sounds, it just doesn't feel like I have time for one."

"Naruto, there will always be more work to do. I'm sure that no one in the village would argue that you put your all into getting it done. The Hokage before you were successful because they knew how to give themselves time to recuperate. Like I said earlier, working yourself to death doesn't help you or the village. Everyone here is counting on you in one way or another, even me, so I suggest you take better care of yourself. You need to be ready for anything, not dragging your feet because you haven't slept in days." Sasuke swiveled on his heel and turned to face the door as he concluded his reasoning, side-stepping the mess that littered the office to make his way toward exit.

"W-Wait, Sasuke!" the perplexed jinchuriki pleaded. In the blink of an eye, he teleported himself between his longtime friend and the door, his arms outstretched to prevent him from passing. "Where are you going?!"

"I'm leaving." Sasuke's terse response resonated within Naruto, seeming to reverberate off of his bones.

"Yeah, I get that, wise guy! Why so soon?! You just dropped in, like, ten minutes ago!" Naruto shouted, dropping his hands to his sides and clenching his fists heatedly. No matter the years that flew by in a blur, his worry when it came to his former teammate always transformed into anger somewhere along the way; his insecurity on how to appropriately express himself to Sasuke made his blood boil, deflecting onto his companion in an unhealthy fashion. Though he recognized the truth of the situation, bringing himself to cope with it proved to be another issue entirely.

Sasuke silently observed the knucklehead ninja for a few moments, his ashy black eyes exploring the features of his obstacle's face. Permitting a sigh to flow from his lips, he found the composure to answer. "Listen, dobe, I have things that I need to get back to. I only came by to check in on you, that's it. Now, move aside so that I can be on my way."

The sharingan user's last words filled Naruto to the brim with frustration, his emotions overflowing into a tempestuous outburst. Placing a hand on each of Sasuke's shoulders, he forcibly pushed him backward. They stumbled through the office's clutter, toppling over piles of sundry items in a barrage of echoing thumps as it all collided with the floor, until the back of Sasuke's thighs smashed into the front of the desk, causing him to fall backward into a sitting position upon its disorganized surface. Naruto seized the opportunity to settle himself between Sasuke's legs, effectively preventing him from fleeing the predicament. Moonlight cascaded in through the sizable windows lining the wall opposite the door, reflecting off of Naruto's ocean blue orbs and adding to their intensity as he stood face to face with his greatest rival and closest friend.

"It's the middle of the night, you idiot! What beyond the village gates is so important that it can't wait until morning?! I get it: you're trying desperately to stick to this path you're on, and I understand why, believe me... But like you told me, rushing things will only get a virtually endless amount of work closer to not being finished. Obviously, it's still important to do, but after that speech you gave me about taking better care of myself, I can't believe you're really willing to turn your back on your own advice! You have precious things waiting for you within the Hidden Leaf walls, too—my family, Kakashi Sensei, Sakura, Sarada, and, dammit, you have me! Please, don't make me send you off into the unknown again so soon when you're finally back home for a change. What part of 'I miss you' don't you get?!" Out of breath from his passionate rant, Naruto allowed his head to fall limply as he gasped for air, maintaining a steadfast grip on his former teammate's shoulders. The tears welling up in his eyes threatened to spill over onto his cheeks if he neglected to swiftly avert his stare to his feet. _"Why does it always end up like this...?"_ he questioned privately, stifling the whimpers seeking release from the confines of his throat.

"N-Naruto...?" Sasuke inquired cautiously, his perceptible eye widened in reaction to his companion's abrupt fit of emotion.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Sasuke. I just... Everything's going so well; all of my dreams have come true, except the one where you finally settle down here in the village with us... With me..."

Naruto anxiously anticipated the surprised Uchiha's rebuttal, noiselessly biting down on his lip as he waited; however, instead of a slew of fervent, damning words, he was greeted with the pressure of a hand gently resting on his head. Glancing tentatively upward at his companion, he was met with the sight of Sasuke smiling apologetically before responding in a hushed, sympathetic tone, "I can't stay, Naruto; not yet... And I can only hope that you continue to understand that decision until the time comes when I feel that I've reached the end to this road of redemption that I'm walking along, but if the day arrives that you get fed up with waiting, I'll understand."

"Stop it, Sasuke! You know I'd never—"

"However," the sharingan user interjected, removing his hand from its perch in Naruto's hair and extending his index and middle fingers outward in order to tap his forehead. "I suppose even an idiot can make points sometimes; I should heed my own advice and take a short break, but I'm heading out before dawn, got it, loser?"

As Naruto enthusiastically tossed his arms around Sasuke's waist in celebration, no prior thought process drove him to do so; his weary mind was functioning at about an equivalent capacity to a drunk's, allowing for his primal urges to unwittingly dictate his actions. Almost immediately realizing what he had done, he hastily threw his hands up in a blur of a motion, as if he were caught in the act of committing a crime and decided it beneficial to surrender. "S-Sorry! I'm so tired, I-I'm not thinking straight! I'm just glad you're willing to stay, even a few hours!" he stuttered, giggling anxiously as he spoke.

"You really are a piece of work, you know that?" Sasuke re-positioned his hand on Naruto's head following his buoyant provocation, lightly stroking the exhausted jinchuriki's sunflower yellow locks. "Then again, I'm pretty stupidly tired myself."

Naruto could not determine if it was the way in which the words sensually flowed from his longtime friend's mouth without hesitation or the welcoming and daring gleam that danced across Sasuke's dark orbs as he spoke them, but before he could convince himself against it, Naruto's lips were firmly pressed against his companion's. He found himself nipping hungrily at the sharingan user's smooth skin, excitedly and wantonly begging for entrance, which he was practically instantly permitted. His tongue adventurously explored the raven haired Uchiha's mouth, lapping at his juices greedily.

Having created a thorough mental map of the layout of the warm crevice that laid beyond Sasuke's lips, the drunkenly tired Hokage pulled back from the fiery kiss in a sloppy manner, a trail of saliva bridging the two men before collapsing under the strain of its own weight. Both famed shinobi panted heavily, sharply inhaling and exhaling as though they feared their next gasp for air might be their last.

"I know...how awful it is to feel this way, but...I want you in a way that I should only want Hinata..." Naruto whispered through labored breaths, a twinge of shame evident in a crack in his voice.

"I... I know..." Sasuke offered a terse response, his eyes glazed over by a foggy lens as they remained glued to Naruto's ultramarine orbs.

"I don't want to hurt her...or Sakura... I love them both, but..." the remorseful jinchuriki began, his voice trailing off into a quiet whimper.

"...But you don't want to stop... And I feel the same way... Therefore, the question becomes, is continuing worth the possible pain we might cause to the people we love...?" Sasuke appeared to rouse a bit from his daze at completing his comrade's thoughts, his bottom lip trembling almost unrecognizably as he spoke.

Was there a tasteful way of answering "yes"—an approach to admitting that one would betray the individual he or she had promised him or herself to that avoided leaving a rotten, repulsive flavor in the back of the throat? Naruto felt inclined to believe a confession like that would be vile regardless of how well someone dressed it up with pretty words. With uninhibited tears rushing down his face like rivers down the side of a lush mountain, he smashed his lips back into Sasuke's, completely crawling over-top him as he pushed his former teammate the remainder of the way onto the desk.

No, there was no way that Naruto could bring himself to utter the cruel truth aloud, but his silence did not change the reality behind his answer.

Sasuke swiftly reached up and unfastened the latch of his cloak, granting the lustful jinchuriki more readily available access to roaming his hands possessively along his lover's muscular frame. Momentarily pulling away from the kiss and allowing his hands to wander without his thoughtful discretion, his right fingertips ended up grazing over the mostly vacant sleeve that concealed the stump of meat where Sasuke's left arm once extended from. He winced at the sensation, painful memories playing back to him like a movie in his mind—the recollection not sparing an ounce of the unpleasant details, from his longtime friend abandoning him and the village to the fateful battle between them that claimed his limb.

Seeming enlightened to the reason behind the sudden grief plaguing Naruto's twisted expression, the perceptive Uchiha reached a comforting hand out to rub against his companion's cheek. "Don't worry about that right now. There are more important things demanding your concern at the moment."

Instantly taking heed of his lover's invitation in an attempt to distract himself from his torturous memories, the wanton Hokage used his left palm to apply pressure to Sasuke's crotch, earning a pleasured groan from the man of his desire that was squirming beneath his touch. The guilt he felt at forsaking his vows soon retreated to his subconscious, his arousal promptly poisoning his conscious mind and leaving him sick for a remedy that only his life-long friend's body could offer him. He skillfully tucked his index and middle fingers into the waistband of the sharingan's user's pants—making certain to grab hold of his boxers in the process as well—pulling down on them as he inched backward off of the desk. Sasuke's engorged, blush red, eight and a half inch dick stood proudly at attention for Naruto, nearly driving the aroused jinchuriki to greedily yank his lover off of the worktable and take him from behind right then; however, despite how heated every fiber of his being may have been, there remained something he longed for more than to act upon his selfish desires: to savor the intimate time he was sharing with one of the most precious people to his heart.

Re-positioning himself to be directly between Sasuke's toned legs once again, Naruto bent forward, teasingly licking the tip of the alluring Uchiha's cock. A resounding moan rattled the otherwise still nighttime air as Sasuke suffered minor spasms at his tormentor's ravishingly impish gesture.

More than content with the reaction he received, Naruto parted his velvety lips and slowly took his former teammate into his moist, warm mouth. Sasuke's hand swiftly shot up and held down on the racy jinchuriki's head in a seemingly involuntary response, accidentally forcing his rigid dick down his throat. Naruto handled the situation in stride, twirling his head from side to side so that the inside of his mouth would slide across the foreign body blocking his airway. The sharingan user began mercilessly thrusting into his lover's throat, unable to contain his rampant impulses any longer. Finally pushed to his breaking point, Naruto gagged violently, promptly pulling away as a fitful cough racked his body.

"N-Naruto, sorry..." Sasuke breathed out in a husk murmur, his chest rising and falling rapidly from his difficulty regaining his composition. Though glossed over in his lustful trance, a glint of genuine concern twinkled in his otherwise ebony black eyes.

"Heh, no biggie," the strong-willed Hokage replied, fully recuperating from his coughing frenzy and redirecting his concentration back to his companion. "I'll make sure you pay me back...plus interest."

Naruto expeditiously gripped the dazed Uchiha's arm and snatched him to his feet with minuscule effort. His immodest urges boiling over into primal desire, he forcefully spun Sasuke around in one swift motion, yanking his charcoal colored pants down to his knees. He took a moment to relish in the sight before him—his closest friend and most worthy rival bearing his well-defined, pale, plump ass to him in a submissive manner. Gently pushing his lover forward in indication that he should bend over and place his hand on the desk, Naruto knelt down to spread his cheeks; he confidently buried his face between them, plunging his tongue into Sasuke's puckered, light brown hole. The sharingan user flinched as Naruto started probing his opening, but stifled, satisfied groans began slipping through his gritted teeth soon after as he became accustomed to the new sensation.

Having thoroughly lubricated Sasuke's asshole with his saliva, the knucklehead ninja slipped his tongue out from inside of his companion, rising to his feet so that he could stand upright. He briefly struggled to disrobe his bottom half, his impatient hands acting more hastily than his mind could initially compute. Once his wits were, once again, about him, he hurriedly ripped down his pants, revealing his rosy pink, eight inch cock.

Sasuke glimpsed back over his shoulder, his eyes quivering excitedly and apprehensively as he examined the package that his lover was working with. "Try to go at least a little easy on me; otherwise, I promise you'll regret it at a later date," he teased, the slight shakiness of his voice betraying the intrepid facade he clinged onto.

"I'll be looking forward to it," Naruto retorted, a mischievous smirk embellishing his soft lips before he abruptly shoved the ridged head of his dick into Sasuke's entrance. The sharingan user let out a resonant yelp in response to the sudden intrusion—a distinct and unique sound that was gracing the knucklehead ninja's ears for the first time, further stiffening his already incredibly hard cock. _"I know how disgustingly selfish it is, especially considering the situation alone, but...I can't help but to hope that some of his noises and expressions are only being made for me to hear,"_ he pondered ruefully as he eased himself the rest of the way into his former teammate, being careful not to apply enough pressure to injure him but still putting enough force behind the penetration to keep squeezing forward with the possibility of some noticeable discomfort on Sasuke's end.

Once fully immersed—his throbbing dick buried inside of his lover's tense walls—the wanton jinchuriki remained motionless for several moments, allowing Sasuke's muscles to relax around him; yes, he could feel the pressure alleviate, little by little, as the compliant Uchiha's body steadily accepted him—an overwhelming pride in this development leading him to begin fervidly grinding his hips against his longtime friend's ass. Sasuke's moans started erupting from his throat, unrepressed, echoing off of the office walls and creating a befitting anthem for Naruto to thrust to.

In the midst of the indecorous Hokage gradually increasing the speed of his movements, the sharingan user straightened his posture, removing his hand from the worktable and wrapping his fingers around his dick. The momentum of Naruto smashing into him from behind propelled him forward over and over again, helping to slide his cock in and out of his grip. Naruto's eyes widened at Sasuke's shameless gesture; the action doused the fires raging in the pit of his stomach with further fuel, igniting an even greater desire to fill his companion to the brim with his cum. He clutched Sasuke's hips with unforgiving strength, forcibly pulling him into each of this thrusts to maximize how far into his former teammate's depths he could reach.

Both of the legendary shinobi choked on their own breath, their basic functions yielding useless as their bodies were over-ridden with pure ecstasy. "Hey, Sasuke... I think I'm about at my limit," the knucklehead ninja forced out through strangled gasps for air.

"Uhn, yeah... Me too," Sasuke practically whimpered in response, his voice trembling and changing in pitch with each thrust. Thrown over the edge at hearing the desperate plea for release that was underlying his lover's desirous tone, Naruto began pumping into the acquiescent Uchiha erratically—harder, faster, and more forcefully, his balls slapping against Sasuke's own each time he delved back in—until his dick felt tight with cum. Extracting his cock entirely, the wanton Hokage slammed himself into the sharingan user once more, colliding into his companion with enough force to push him forward—causing his upper half to collapse onto the desk—and emptying his hefty load into his hole. With Naruto's cock pulsating in his ass, Sasuke haphazardly spewed his own cum onto the front of the worktable.

Naruto remained inside of Sasuke for a few minutes, resting himself on his lover's mostly limp body while he savored the sensation of their hearts beating to a similar melodies—their robust figures sharing no space in between. "Don't leave just yet," the drained jinchuriki instructed, finally breaking the silence while pulling out of Sasuke. He leisurely adjusted his pants, his former teammate promptly following suit. "Once the sun's about to rise, you'll disappear with the night... There's still a couple hours before then, so please, stay and rest with me until then. We can make my desk a makeshift bed, though I've gotta admit I don't think it'll be very comfortable!"

The sharingan user pivoted on his heel in order to turn and face his longtime friend, his eyes drooping ever so slightly in an apologetic fashion. "Naruto, I think it'd be best if—"

"Please," Naruto repeated softly, interrupting his reply. "I know that I'm going to have to miss you when I get up, so I'm begging you, please don't make me go to sleep feeling that same way. I wouldn't be able to rest well at all."

"...Alright, fine, you idiot; you win. Let's clear ourselves a space and get to sleep." Decided upon staying with Naruto the remainder of the night, Sasuke out-stretched his arm and swept it across a significant portion of the worktable, displacing countless papers and similar items as he did.

"Aah, Sasuke!" the baffled Hokage shrieked, slapping his hands to the sides of his face frantically. "Why did you do that?!"

The disinterested Uchiha shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, throwing his hand up and cocking it to the side dismissively. "You're the one who said you wanted me to stay here with you and that we should sleep on the desk. If I'd waited for you to neatly sort through all the junk cluttering it, I probably would have had to head out by the time you were finished, if you could even manage to wrap things up that quickly."

"Mm... As annoying as it is to admit, you have a point," the knucklehead ninja confessed as he strolled passed Sasuke, removed his cape brandishing his title of Seventh Hokage, and laid it out on the desk as a make-shift sheet before plopping onto the now discernible dark wood surface that had been wiped relatively clean by his companion. Laying out flat, he invitingly patted the area immediately beside him. Sasuke tepidly accepted the silent request, following Naruto's example and spreading his cloak out on the desk directly to his closest friend and rival's side before settling onto his provisional bed.

The sharingan user laid with his back to Naruto, earning an unsatisfied grunt from the sullen jinchuriki. When he failed to react, both verbally and physically, Naruto bitterly (yet playfully) complained, his voice a dramatically whiny tone to portray the depth of his discontent. "You agreed to stay here, but you've still gotten emotionally distant again so quickly! Look at me, why don't you?!"

Naruto abruptly reached over-top of Sasuke and grabbed his chin, cautiously but forcibly jerking his head in his direction. The view that greeted him caused his heart to sink into his chest—a solitary tear trailed down his lover's cheek, spilling over when he was forced to glance back without warning. "Wha... What the...?" the knucklehead ninja questioned, perturbed.

Sasuke speedily smacked Naruto's hand away with an audible thud, hastily turning his face from his company's once more before responding in a hushed voice, "I...just want to get some rest..."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke... None of this ever should have happened," Naruto apologized, his eyes dampening with sorrow and remorse.

"That's not it, idiot!" the irate Uchiha swiftly contorted his body around in order to confront Naruto, his mouth in close enough proximity to his longtime friend's for the sharingan user's warm breath to lightly tickle the bridge of his nose each time he exhaled. "I don't regret what happened, and that's the issue. I have a wife and a daughter at home waiting for me unconditionally—you have your own family patiently expecting your return as well—and yet, I'm not the least bit repentant for what we've done, other than the fact that I hope my selfish decision doesn't devastate Sakura or Sarada..."

It felt as though Sasuke's words formed into an arrow, piercing Naruto through the heart. The stunned Hokage empathized with his life-long comrade's sentiments, and this realization instantly weighed on him like a ton of bricks. Yes, he absolutely loved and would die for his family; however, he still willingly betrayed their trust in him as a faithful husband and father. The worst part? Deep within himself, he knew, without much of an inkling of disillusion or doubt, that he would severely lack the strength to turn Sasuke down if another opportunity presented itself for him to be intimate with his best friend, in any sense of the word... In fact, if being brutally honest, he could foresee himself readily seeking out those affections.

 _"I'm so sorry, Hinata, Himawari, Boruto... I hope that, someday, I'm not too much of a coward to tell you all the truth. I know that you might resent me for what I've done and the things I've yet to do. My only wish is that my deep-seeded love for Sasuke doesn't ruin your drive to move toward a happier future, even if I can no longer be a part of the lives you'll continue to live,"_ Naruto mused privately, scooting toward the sharingan user and draping an arm over his hip prior to speaking out loud—tears uncontrollably racing down his cheeks as he addressed his greatest sin. "Just like with every hardship up to now, I share in your pain...and just like every other time, I will happily shoulder its burden with you. Now, you were right; we should hurry up and get some decent rest before the chance passes us by."

Sasuke nodded his head weakly in response, offering the sometimes unjustifiably optimistic jinchuriki a faint and weary but confiding smile before permitting his heavy eyelids to drift shut. Naruto remained awake for a brief moment, taking in every detail of his resting lover—his long, dark eyelashes, the way in which his midnight blue hair fell haphazardly over the placid features of his face, the way the moonlight interacted with the artificial illumination in the room to provide natural contour to the enchanting Uchiha's dips and curves, the soft whistle his lips produced when he exhaled... Everything. As Naruto began to succumb to his unconsciousness yet again, he burned the scene into his mind, knowing all too well that when he awoke to the sun's brilliant glow—finally somewhat rested and living an otherwise fortunate life—the only lingering pieces of the experience he would be able to hold onto to tide him over until Sasuke's return were the memory of the event and his incessant longing to be at his best friend's side once more.


End file.
